Begin by looking around your home and see what colors make you happy, and what colors will look best if you choose to hang your photos in your home. For a little inspiration, you can use the website https://design-seeds.com and select a color you love and colors that complement it to form a palette. From the palette, select a base outfit. This is usually mom's outfit.
Often, the base outfit will have all the colors that compose your palette. In the example, the outfit is burgundy with beige embroidery. It contains a pattern and texture through embroidery and flowing fabric. If you choose an all over pattern, it should be a large random print, not a small predictably repetitive one.
Choose COORDINATING outfits not MATCHING ones!!
Use the colors from the palette to select the rest of the outfits, but use texture rather than pattern to create interest. In this photo, the little girl has denim and tulle to create texture. Even though there is no denim or blue in the mom's dress, it works as a neutral and is repeated by other members of the family.
The little boy's shirt works in the scenario because no other family members have highly patterned attire. Be careful with patterns that are either very small and repetitive or contain a lot of narrow lines for a few reasons. It can create a moire effect that is distracting from the final image and it makes face swapping to get the "money shot" of everyone looking at the camera much more difficult.
Do
Choose colors you love
Utilize textures, layer and accessories
Use inspiration to find a final outcome you love
Put little ones (2 and under) in outfits that snap between the legs to prevent bunching when being held
DON'T
all wear the same color/pattern
use very small patterns
wear something uncomfortable
Forget the details like your fingernails
Stress!!
One last tip: If you use a source like Pinterest for inspiration, look at the silhouettes of the clothing in the pictures you love. Are the fitted or flown?
All my clients have access to Style and Select to help them with initiating their outfit selection, but I am always available for a pre-session consultation to help you select the perfect look for your session.
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